TEMPE, Ariz. -- A couple of weeks ago, Arizona Cardinals receiver Michael Wilson noticed something different in his teammate and fellow receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
He was smiling more.
Wilson said it's not that Harrison has been happier, adding that Harrison is just a happy person. It's that he's showing it more.
"Whether he's caught five balls or no balls or one ball in practice, he's smiling," Wilson said.
"So, it's just good to see Marv smiling a lot because when his energy is right and his attitude is right ... I'm going to keep saying it: He's one of the best receivers in the NFL from a talent perspective. And, so, it's good to see him smiling and having fun playing football.
"Because, at the end of the day, football is a fun sport and we've all been playing. I've been playing since I was 8 years old. And the reason why I still love to play because it's fun. At the end of the day, it's fun."
Whether having more fun will turn into Harrison's first 1,000-yard season of his young career or even the best season he has had since getting drafted fourth in 2024 is yet to be seen. Harrison said this week that he feels pretty good after suffering injuries to his feet that hampered him last season.
But it's not how Harrison has started this training camp, but how he has finished. And it has put a chip on Harrison's shoulder.
A couple of drops early in camp went viral, leading to the typical backlash that frequents social media. Harrison saw it, and he understands it.
"It's easy to look at the results," he said. "I know whether if I don't make a play that someone thinks I should have made, they're going to post it, and it's going to do what it's going to do in the social media era. And that's OK.
"For me, it's just I'm worried about my process, know what I do each and every single day to prepare myself for practice, prepare myself for games on Sunday. And what the result's going to be, the result's going to be. But I know Monday through Saturday, I'm going to do the best I can to make sure I put my best foot forward."
Since those drops, Harrison has been consistent through practice and his one preseason action this year against the Raiders last week. He caught a touchdown pass on what he called an "impressive" and "crazy throw" from quarterback Jacoby Brissett that resulted in a "distraction drill catch for me."
It was part of what Harrison described as a "good camp" for him.
"I made a lot of plays, explosive plays," he said. "I feel like I've definitely, as far as the run game, been more involved in the run game. I feel like we've had a great camp. I think not only myself, just as an offense. It's been fun out there, and I had a lot of fun in the offense, but I would say I had a pretty good camp so far."
As camp progressed, Brissett saw Harrison be patient with his progress.
"I think he's taken tremendous steps as far as understanding this is a long process," Brissett said. "The end result is not going to be tomorrow. And that's a battle. That's a battle for him, me, everybody on the team. The hard part is you want the results now. You want to go out there and do everything the right way. But that's why we're in the room that we're in, and we have the opportunity to go out there and play in a National Football League because we know we can.
"It's just a matter of now we got to sustain that competitive edge on a day-in-and-day-out process."
New coach Mike LaFleur has seen "steady improvement" out of Harrison throughout camp but wasn't concerned about the drops. If they continue during the regular season, that might change, but for camp, LaFleur was more worried about why they happened and how Harrison corrected it.
The two have developed a quick rapport and need just a hand signal for LaFleur to communicate to Harrison, especially about get-off. LaFleur flashes it when he wants to see Harrison have more body length off the line.
"Because once he gets going, he's a big dude, right?" LaFleur said of the 6-3, 220-pound receiver. "And if I'm a DB standing there knowing I got a big dude that could run by me or can stop on a dime, that's tough. If we're upright out of our stance, well, you've already lost yardage right there."
To do that on every play comes down to having the right mentality, Harrison said. But LaFleur has already helped Harrison with his get-off.
"Especially for me, just kind of where my routes usually are deeper down the field," Harrison said. "Obviously, those first 5 to 10 yards is making everything look full speed. He definitely helped me in those routes."
LaFleur is a bit concerned that Harrison might be getting bored in meetings because football makes sense to him on a level it doesn't to most other players, partly a product of being raised by a Hall of Famer wide receiver. LaFleur described Harrison as "super intelligent, super smart" and is someone with whom the coaches enjoy working, LaFleur added.
LaFleur doesn't have a reference point to say whether Harrison is happier or smiling more, but he has seen a steadiness from Harrison every day. That's just Harrison trying to be himself, trying to be positive every day, the receiver said. With that comes trying to be a good example for his teammates, especially the younger ones.
Harrison is not consciously smiling more or trying to come across as happier. It's just happening.
"It's just something," Harrison said, "I'm just being myself."